The present disclosure relates to a coordinate measuring system, and in particular to coordinate measuring system including or cooperating with a portable articulated arm coordinate measuring machine (AACMM).
Portable articulated arm coordinate measuring machines (AACMMs) have found widespread use in the manufacturing or production of parts where there is a need to rapidly and accurately verify the dimensions of the part during various stages of the manufacturing or production (e.g., machining) of the part. Portable AACMMs represent a vast improvement over known stationary or fixed, cost-intensive and relatively difficult to use measurement installations, particularly in the amount of time it takes to perform dimensional measurements of relatively complex parts. Typically, a user of a portable AACMM simply guides a probe along the surface of the part or object to be measured. The measurement data are then recorded and provided to the user. In some cases, the data are provided to the user in visual form, for example, three-dimensional (3D) form on a computer screen. In other cases, the data are provided to the user in numeric form, for example when measuring the diameter of a hole, the text “Diameter=1.0034” is displayed on a computer screen.
Today, probes and accessories of AACMM tend to drift when replaced with other probes or accessories. They are subject to shocks when mounted on stands or tables. They tend to lose accuracy when moved from place to place. They may be difficult to use with other 3D measuring devices such as laser trackers.
Accordingly, while existing AACMM's are suitable for their intended purposes there remains a need for improvements when AACMM probes or accessories are changed. Further improvements are needed when AACMMs are mounted on structures, moved from place to place, or used cooperatively with other 3D measuring devices.